


Rust

by SuperSanversShipper



Series: Supergirl Season Three Rewrite [1]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Fix-It, Lena Luthor Knows Kara Danvers Is Supergirl
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-04
Updated: 2018-01-17
Packaged: 2019-02-28 00:39:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13259961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperSanversShipper/pseuds/SuperSanversShipper
Summary: Supergirl’s already precarious mental state hits a low point, as a dangerous theif begins stealing pieces of alien weaponry. A rival CEO works to buy out CatCo and threatens Lena for her family’s mistakes. Alex and Maggie hit the first road block in their wedding planning. James’s worries about Kara increase when he notices that the superhero is avoiding her job at CatCo. Winn and J’onn identify a pattern in a recent increase of alien murders.ORThe season three episode one rewrite that no-one asked for, but we all deserve.





	1. Scene I

**Author's Note:**

> I’m not a great writer, but I sure as hell am better than the SG writers.  
> Enjoy!

Alex is no fool. She knows that the chances of a peaceful date night are extremely low. Still, as she slips into Maggie’s car, she can’t help but be irritated. She looks over at Maggie as she slips on her seatbelt, noticing how her fiancèe’s knuckles are pale on the steering wheel. Maggie hates this, Alex knows, because of the numerous times her job has caused women to break up with her.  
Before her fiancée can begin pulling out of the parking spot, however, Alex gently places a hand on her elbow. Maggie looks over at her, worried. Alex looks into her eyes and mouths, “I love you.”  
Maggie visibly relaxes, but the reprieve only lasts a second before both Maggie’s radio and Alex’s comms start calling for their attention.   
“We have a 10-80 in progress heading south on National City Boulevard. All units respond,” the radio crackled.  
Maggie grabbed the radio and said, “Copy. This is Detective Sawyer, we’re on the way.”  
In Alex’s ear, Winn declared, “Ok! We’ve got a robbery and car chase in progress, heading down National City Boulevard. We don’t have an ID on the driver or the thief, but we’re working on it.”  
“Work harder,” grunted Alex, turning around to lean into the backseat and open the gun safe stashed below the middle back seat. She punches in the code and pulls out the handgun stashed in it.  
As she puts in a new magazine, Alex jokes, “From now on, I’m wearing my tactical gear on date night.”  
Maggie takes her eyes off the road for a second to flash her dimples at Alex. Then, she turns onto National City Boulevard, and turns on the siren. The cars in front of her move apart, and Maggie speeds up even more. They join up with a patrol car which falls back slightly with a few of its other counterparts. In front of them is a large, white truck. Alex opens her window, leaning outside to try and shoot at the tires of the truck. After three bullets, the people in the truck retaliate and Maggie pulls Alex back in the car. She thinks that Maggie might have yelled something at before she was pulled back in the car, but the blood pumping in her ears doesn’t allow her to register it as anything other than background noise. Suddenly, the truck is slowing down, and the undercarriage of the truck has caught onto the front of Maggie’s car.   
“They’re dragging us!” Maggie yells out, and the implications of that statement hit Alex like a bullet.  
Her breath catches in her chest, and Alex’s hand instinctively reaches for Maggie’s wrist, but the sight of the back of the truck rolling open stops her in her tracks. A man had a gun pointed directly at them.  
“Shit”, thought Alex.   
Bad guys having big guns was never a good sign.  
Just as the man began firing, however, Kara lands on the hood of the car, blocking the bullets. Then, she grabs the gun, breaking it, and the scientist in Alex can’t help but wince at the destruction of the weapon. Then, Kara carefully unhooks the truck from the car, glancing back at Alex. Kara nods, and looks for the man, but he was nowhere to be seen.  
Alex leans back once the car is unhooked, glancing at her fiancée.  
Maggie asks, “You okay?”  
“Yeah,” Alex answered, “You?”  
“I’m good.”  
“Good,” Alex panted out glancing at the truck, which they had been following at a slower speed.  
She could see her sister fighting the man, who now held what looked like a electric baton in his hands. Kara grabbed the baton, knocking the man onto a SUV that was parked to the side. Then, a car rushed in front of the truck, and Maggie sped up. Just moments before the truck and car would have crashed, however, Kara leapt in front of the truck, stopping it with a fiery explosion.  
Maggie stopped the car, and grabbed her gun. They rushed out of the car to check on Kara, only to see her fly away.  
“She doesn’t even stop for autographs anymore,” Maggie murmured.  
Alex glanced back at Maggie, worried.  
Maggie noticed this, and turned to completely face Alex.  
“You okay?” Maggie asked gently.  
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Alex sighed, “Just worried.”  
“What can I do?”  
“I don’t know… I’m going to head to the DEO and try to talk to her,” Alex said, eyes fixed on the place where Supergirl leapt up, up, and away.  
“Okay, and I’m going to check on these guys and head to the precinct. Love you,” Maggie replied, before turning around.  
“Hey,” Alex tapped into her comms, “can I get a ride?”  
J’onn picks up Alex moments later, flying her to the DEO.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara’s dream urges her to re-evaluate some things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so short. I wanted to make this a little longer but I couldn’t figure out how...

Kara flew into the DEO, stopping at the command center. No matter how hard she tries she can’t stop thinking about her dream. She had thought about it before helping Alex and Maggie out with the thief and she was still thinking about it.

_Kara walked through the field, her hands brushing against the stalks of the wheat. She took a deep breath, breathing in the air that was so unlike the polluted city air all around her. It was peaceful._  
_In the distance, Kara saw a flash of a deep blue. It looked far away, but Kara didn’t bother flying. She knew the splash of color would be there when she got there._  
_Somehow, it only took a few minutes to reach the color. Still, Kara gazed curiously at the startlingly familiar woman who wore the blue dress. The woman turned around. Kara gasped._  
_“Mother?” Kara asked._  
_“Hello, Kara,” Alura answered, smiling warmly._  
_A pair of hands closed over Kara’s eyes, and a familiar voice said, “Guess who, Little One?”_  
_Kara whirled around, shocked._  
_“Aunt Astra?” she asked, her heart soaring and breaking at once._  
_Kara rushed into her aunt’s arms, before turning slightly and reaching an arm out to her mother. Alura stepped closer and allowed herself to be pulled into a hug._  
_“I miss you,” Kara sniffled, refusing to meet their eyes._  
_“Little One,” Astra said, placing a finger under her chin and raising it, “it’s okay to miss us.”_  
_“I did something. And someone I cared about died,” Kara said._  
_“Did you love him?” Alura asked._  
_“I did. He was… comfortable. He understood, almost. He wasn’t perfect, but he had… he had been to more than one planet. I could kiss him without hurting him. It was like…”_  
_“He was a part of home?” Astra said, all too understandingly._  
“Yeah. Yeah, he was.”  
_“It was like that for Non and me. He was a strong soldier. When we went for missions and I would miss my home, my family, he understood. That is why I married him. He was a friend. But I never saw him as a lover, though he saw me as such.”_  
_“Non… you weren’t in love with him?”_  
_“No. But he was comfortable.”_  
_“Oh.”_  
_“I do not mean to imply that yours was anything like mine. Simply that I understand.”_  
_Kara sighed, closing her eyes and leaning into the embrace._  
_“Is it my fault?” Kara questioned, “that I had to send him away? Is this what it felt like for you? On Krypton?”_  
_Astra and Alura simply smiled. The edges of the field were blurry. The blur sped from the edges to the center of Kara’s vision. It turned black. And then, Kara woke up._

Kara ignored the thoughts floating around the back of her mind, pleading with her to re-evaluate her relationship with Mon-El. Right now, she was Supergirl and she had a job to do.


	3. Part III

Winn leaned against the table as Kara flew into the DEO.  
“That was a nice car chase,” he said, as she rounded the table, “Very fast, very furious.”  
“Any luck on the one that got away?” she asked, all business.  
Winn sighed. Clearly today was not the day that he was getting through to her.  
“No, facial recognition is still running,” Winn reported, “So far nothing.”  
“Anything else?” J’onn asked, marching into the Command Center.  
Kara stepped up to the central unit, showing her bloodied knuckles, “This is his. Winn, can you send a sample up to Alex’s lab? His DNA may already be in the database.”  
Winn cringed at the blood, “Well, this is new and gross.”  
Winn began cleaning the blood off of Kara’s hand.  
Kara sighed, “I shoulda cuffed him.”  
Alex, freshly changed, walked up and said, in the voice that she reserved for Kara and occasionally Winn himself, said, “You knocked him a hundred yards onto the roof of that SUV. Not to mention, saving my fiancée and I.”  
Winn saw an opportunity to pipe in and added, “Yeah, and that truck was full of aluminum tubes, which might not seem like much until you use them to build an illegal nuclear centrifuge.”  
“This is a big win, Supergirl,” J’onn said, moving to put his hand on Kara’s shoulder.  
Kara took a second to answer, “It’s not a win till they’re behind bars.”  
Winn finished collecting the blood, giving Kara a wipe to clean the remaining specks and letting out a small noise of satisfaction.  
“Let’s go get this guy,” she marched off, all business as she had been for the last six months.  
Alex followed her sister, and Winn kept an ear on the conversation.  
“So, Maggie and I are going to do the tasting for the wedding. Three hours of hors d’oeuvres,” Alex suggested, “There’ll be potstickers, wine, schnapps… did I mention the potstickers?”  
“Sure, if I have time,” Kara answered.  
Winn whipped his head around to stare at Kara. He had literally never seen her refuse potstickers. He continued staring as the superhero flew away, walking up to Alex as she stared after Kara.  
“Man, I thought it was bad when she missed game night, but this?” he said, “God, it’s like the beginning of the Dark Days.”  
“Remember,” J’onn answered from the other side of Alex, “grief doesn’t have a deadline.”  
“Yeah, but she goes from Little Miss Sunshine to… well, Alex, basically,” Winn said, adding the last part to try and take Alex’s mind off Kara’s behavior.  
“What?” Alex protested, “I’m not like that!”  
“Come on, Alex, your seriousness is one of your best qualities,” J’onn said, clearly catching on.  
Winn followed J’onn as he began to walk away, hearing Alex call “I’m not!”.  
Winn smirked slightly, before turning to J’onn seriously.  
“Hey, J’onn, I wanted to talk to you about those murders you had me look into,” he said.  
“Yeah, Agent Schott?” J’onn answered, keeping his eyes on his tablet.  
“Well, I looked at the DEO satellite readings around the locations of the murder, and I noticed that there was an increase in the amount of tachyons, sir,” Winn explained.  
J’onn stopped in the middle of the empty hallway, “Are you saying that the murderer… traveled through time every time they wanted to kill an alien?”  
“No, not exactly. I looked closer and I found there were slight increases all around the city. The murderer just spent more time at the scene of the crime,” Winn elaborated.  
“Agent, can you use that technology to try and find his home?” J’onn asked, clearly curious.  
“No, it looks like our mystery guest has been changing the place where they sleep every night,” Winn said, glancing at his tablet to make sure.  
“Does he have any other place he frequents regularly?”  
“Yes, actually,” Winn grinned, “You know the Walmart on E Plaza and Highland?”  
J’onn nodded.  
“Well, he goes there everyday and stays for around ten hours,” Winn finished.  
“So, he works there?” J’onn contemplated.  
“Yeah, probably,” Winn said, “do you want me to call up a strike team?”  
J’onn shook his head, “No, that’ll be too conspicuous. We need to make sure we don’t scare the target off if he’s not there.”  
Then, J’onn looked at Winn with a look that Winn did not like. Winn gulped.  
————————————————  
Lena sighed as the walking personification of white male privilege began talking again. He had been boasting and bragging since the meeting had begun. Now, playing with his little model of the city, he launched into yet another stream of rhetoric.  
“People say that capitalists only care about themselves, but the truth is, without big business, this city would still be in ruins after the Daxamite invasion. Look at st us now, bustling. I think we should all give ourselves a pat on the back. Let’s not forget to glad-hand the Mayor too. Without him, none of this would have happened,” Edge droned on, nearly lulling Lena into boredom.  
“It’s you, Morgan,” the mayor said, “It’s all of you.”  
Edge preened, “In six months, we’ve done the impossible.”  
“Let’s not forget Supergirl,” Lena added, glancing at James Olsen as he said the same.  
At some level, despite the grudge that she knew James harbored against her family name, she was glad he was in here. After all, he was the only other member of this meeting who wasn’t a straight, white, man.  
James motioned for Lena to continue, and she does.  
“I mean, none of the heavy lifting could’ve been done without her,” Lena said, determined to make sure that her friend was recognized.  
“That’s true,” agreed the mayor, “It's why I’m so excited about the unveiling of the Girl of Steel statue at the waterfront.”  
“Mayor, it’s going to take more than a pretty statue to bring people down to that slum of a waterfront,” Edge sneered.  
Lena couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Unsurprisingly, people like Morgan Edge and most of the men in the room couldn’t care less about those who actually needed help, preferring to cater to the crowds that didn’t need help just to live above the poverty line.  
The mayor sighed, “I’m still working on that zoning commission, Morgan.”  
Edge sniffed, “You’d do better to explain how my development will revitalize the neighborhood. Starting with moving out crime and homelessness, and moving in opportunity and an expanded tax b-“  
“They’ve all heard your sales pitch, Morgan,” the mayor said, clearly irritated.  
“We all have,” James added.  
“Yes,” Edge attacked, “I’m sure that everyone has had the chance to read CatCo’s inflammatory articles about that sales pitch, articles that have become increasingly biased ever since you took over babysitting Cat Grant’s mouthpiece.”  
Edge leaned over the table to try and provoke James, and as many differences as there were between James and Lena, she could not let that stand.  
“Your development would level the whole area, force people from their homes, just to make high-rises for the wealthy,” she piped in, unable to keep her voice from rising.  
“Lena, spouting the CatCo company line? Really? But, I shouldn’t be surprised, after all, with all the good press they’ve been giving you,” Edge said, pretending to be surprised.  
“She’s earned that good press by donating millions of dollars to the rebuilding,” James slipped in.  
“Really? Because I thought it was restitution for what her mother did. Or was it her brother? Or Lena herself? After all, she did bring the aliens to the city,” Edge countered, “A bit of business advice, Lena. Guilt isn’t a good business strategy.”  
“Neither is exploitation,” Lena argued.  
Edge’s face contorted into a mockery of innocence, “I would never do such a thing.”  
“Of course.”  
“Of course, Ms. Luthor,” Edge said, smiling edgily.  
They stared at each other in a silent stalemate, until, finally, Edge looked away.  
“Well, my people have organized quite a spread in the other room. Feel free to join us, Ms. Luthor, Mr. Olsen.”


	4. Part IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it’s been so long, y’all!

James walked into the bustling set of cubicles to hear the dreaded voice of Cat Grant. He glanced at the television, seeing his former boss answering questions as the new White House Press Secretary.  
“Ms.Grant!” a reporter yelled.  
“Yes, Carl?” Ms.Grant said in her typical dismissively curious tone.  
“Does President Marsdin believe in global warming?” the reporter questioned.  
“Yes, she does,” Ms.Grant answered, “She also believes that two plus two is four and that the Earth is round because the President is not a moron. Any third-grader knows that global warming is the greatest threat to our lives and I am pleased to report that the President’s mental capacity is not inferior to that of a eight-year-old. Next question.”  
James glanced behind himself to se Kara making a beeline towards him. When she reached him, he turned slightly, walking towards his office.  
“I know Ms.Grant is doing great things, but National City’s gonna miss her,” he said.  
“Best Press Secretary since Robert Gibbs,” quipped Kara.  
James smiled to himself, “You kidding? She makes Gibbs look like a hall monitor.”  
Kara snorted and James grinned, glad that she seemed better.  
“With Ms. Grant in D.C. and Snapper on sabbatical, this place has been… oddly congenial,” she said.  
“Well, we do our best,” he answered, hoping to keep Kara’s mind off her boyfriend.  
She sighed, and glanced at him as they marched into his office.  
“Okay, guys!” he boomed, “Look alive! We’re a week away from wrapping this up, so I need to know what’s going on. What’s up with sports?”  
He grabbed a baseball off his desk, tossing it to Brad, the sports reporter.  
“Well, as of last night, the Metropolis Monarchs officially have the worst record in baseball,” Brad answered.  
“Crime?” James said, silently glad that he won his bet against Lois.  
“There’s not much to cover,” Lyrica answered, “Crime has gone down 65% over the past six months. Supergirl turned this city around pretty much single-handedly.”  
“Which brings me to my next point,” James slips in, glancing at Kara, “Supergirl.”  
“She’s not really been available for an interview about the statue,” Kara answers.  
James sighs, knowing that Kara was avoiding the job, “The statue dedication is this weekend.”  
Kara puts on a smile that James knew was fake, “I will do my best.”  
James scrutinizes Kara for a second longer, before turning to the rest of the room.  
“So! We all have our assignments! Let’s get to work!” he said.  
As the reporters got up to leave, he added, “Kara.”  
She turned around.  
“Hey, are you sure you’re okay to write this?” he asked, “Is this gonna bring up some old stuff for you?”  
“I said I was,” she answered, less Kara and more Girl of Steel.  
“Okay, well, I’m here if you want to talk or grab a drink or something,” he tried to assure.  
“Do you want me to grab a drink or do you want me to write the article?” she asked.  
“Okay. Listen, I’m on your side. Okay? Look, I know, more than anyone, how much ass Supergirl has been kicking,” he said, trying to make sure she was okay.  
“It’s my job,” Kara said, turning and stomping out.  
“So was this,” James whispered to himself.  
He sighed, returning to his desk, and looking at some of his recent photos. His phone rang. James turned it around to see Winn’s contact flashing on the screen.  
He picked it up and brought it to his ear. “Hey, man. What’s up?” he said, trying to dispel his worries about Kara.  
“Hey! So, my dear amazing friend, how are you?” Winn cheesed on the other end of the line.  
“Winn, man, what did you do?” James sighed.  
“Me? Do something? No. Nope. Nah. I’d never do anything. Also, completely unrelated question, do press credentials give you the right to, I dunno, get the employee lists of like, Walmarts and Targets?”  
“Walmart and Targe- what? Winn what’s going on?”  
“What, no, nothing is going on! No! Absolutely nothing! I’m just wondering what press creds give you the right to see?”  
“Winn.”  
“Fine! J’onn and I are trying to figure out who’s behind the alien murder spree that’s been happening.”  
“Ok,” James took a deep breath, “I’m in.”  
_____________________________

“There’s still more I can do. And touch people’s lives. In that vein, I’d like to announce a bold, new direction for my company,” Edge droned on the screen.  
Lena was tempted to go over to her cabinet which held her stronger drinks, but restrained from doing so. If she got too drunk she might do something stupid, like calling Edge to a meeting and throwing him off the balcony.  
“I’m buying CatCo,” TV Edge announced, grabbing her attention from all the ways she’d like to destroy Edge.  
She stifled a gasp, hands clenching at the side of her desk.  
“The press is one of the is one of the most influential industries in the country. In the last few years, the press in this town has swung wildly to one side: CatCo.”  
“Hey,” a much more pleasant voice said from her door, immediately causing Lena to tune out Edge’s idiotic commentary.  
“Kara, hi!” Lena greeted, taking in the wonderful sight in front of her.  
However, Edge’s ridiculous rant interrupted her not particularly obvious checking out of her best friend.  
“By buying CatCo, I will move press coverage in this city back to the unbiased, and give people a truly objective view of their world,” he continued.  
Lena couldn’t stop her face muscles from contracting into what was most certainly a snarl. Looking up, she met Kara’s slightly flushed gaze.  
“Slightly flushed? What are you thinking, Lena, she doesn’t like you,” Lena raged in her mind.  
“Sorry,” she murmured out loud, “I just hate that sentient bottle of cheap cologne.”  
“Did you know?” Kara asked, and for a second, Lena panicked.  
“See? I told you she doesn’t trust you,” a voice that sounded unnervingly like her mother whispered in her head.  
Lena shook the thought. Kara’s tone was curious, not accusatory, and the almost steely look in her eyes could easily be due to the threat of Edge buying the company that she worked at.  
“No,” she answered, “but I wouldn’t be surprised if this is my fault.”  
“What? Lena, no! Why would you even think that?” Kara protested vehemently.  
“No, no, it’s just… James and I got in his face the last time we met, and… I don’t know. He is the kind of man who’d spend that much money on a grudge,” she sighed, rolling her eyes, “Straight white men, am I right?”  
Kara snorted, and then sighed.  
“Do you think the shareholders would listen to Cat?” Lena asked, trying to read her friend’s mood.  
“Well, Cat had to put her shades in a blind trust when she became press secretary,” Kara said, finally sitting down.  
Lena internally growled, marching over to her counter and pouring herself and Kara some water.  
“But I did some digging, and Edge has been quietly buying up shares before making a tender offer to the major shareholders,” Kara finished.  
“Yay! No more free press,” Lena quipped sarcastically, handing Kara the glass before rounding the desk to sit in her chair.  
“You’ve invested in his portfolio, though,” Kara asserted, “So, I figured that if you could talk to him, you might be able to be persuasive.”  
Lena couldn’t help but scoff, “Edge doesn’t listen to anyone’s opinion except his own. Especially not a woman’s.”  
“Lena, you helped Supergirl save the world,” sighed Kara.  
“No,” Lena thought, “I helped you save the world.”  
“How hard can one stubborn sexist be?” Kara finished.  
Lena sighed. She was more than a little helpless against the slight pout on the superhero’s face.  
“All right, I’ll see what I can do,” Lena finally agreed.  
“You’re the best,” Kara said, looking lighter than she had in months.  
Kara picked up her bag, smiling at Lena, before turning to leave.  
“H-hey Kara,” Lena stammered, as Kara turned around, “I mean. I miss you. Is everything okay? Because I keep trying to make plans and you keep ditching.”  
Lena worried her lip as Kara begins answering, “I’ve just been busy.”  
“Oh,” Lena thought, “Lena you fool, don’t you remember what happened to Mon-El? She’s obviously angry at you for that.”  
“Oh, okay,” she said aloud, “Right. I also wanted to say that I’m sorry for the part I played in what happened to Mon-El. And that I’m here for you if you still want that.”  
Lena couldn’t help but be scared of Kara’s answer.  
“No,” Kara said, causing Lena’s breath to hitch in fear.  
“You did what you had to do,” Kara answered.  
Lena relaxed.  
“Besides, it was Supergirl's decision. Not yours.”  
With that, Kara left the office, leaving Lena afraid for the superhero's state of mind.


End file.
